Poorly paced, poorly directed mess of a film. Snyder was a bad choice for this. The CGI battle scenes were gratuitous and unnecessarily long, the Clark/Lois Lane romance felt forced and rushed, and Snyder's use of the shaky-cam was distracting and silly. If you want to watch Superman fly around and punch people into buildings without any care or consequence to anyone, you're in for aPoorly paced, poorly directed mess of a film. Snyder was a bad choice for this. The CGI battle scenes were gratuitous and unnecessarily long, the Clark/Lois Lane romance felt forced and rushed, and Snyder's use of the shaky-cam was distracting and silly. If you want to watch Superman fly around and punch people into buildings without any care or consequence to anyone, you're in for a treat. Otherwise, wait till DVD/Blu Ray. Oh, and please see it in 2D, 3D is not worth the extra cost for this.…Expand

The final battle is Too long and the result is the leveling of major portions of Metropolis. The Superman I remember would have done anything to minimize the destruction (including surrender). I’m weary of these bloodless post 9/11 comic book city destruction scenes and they really wrecked the movie for me. Film makers please watch a few minutes of the post Boston Marathon coverage andThe final battle is Too long and the result is the leveling of major portions of Metropolis. The Superman I remember would have done anything to minimize the destruction (including surrender). I’m weary of these bloodless post 9/11 comic book city destruction scenes and they really wrecked the movie for me. Film makers please watch a few minutes of the post Boston Marathon coverage and stop trivializing this kind of violence. If the destruction depicted in this film were “real” we’d be talking casualties in the tens of thousands.…Collapse

Man of Steel is much more of a special effects fiasco than it is a Superman movie.

Such liberties are taken with the characters, his background, his world and the people in it that this movie is almost indistinguishable from the Superman of comics and Reeves/Reeves/Roth.
The movie itself is much more of an action movie with explosions and collateral damage, so much so that it is moreMan of Steel is much more of a special effects fiasco than it is a Superman movie.

Such liberties are taken with the characters, his background, his world and the people in it that this movie is almost indistinguishable from the Superman of comics and Reeves/Reeves/Roth.

The movie itself is much more of an action movie with explosions and collateral damage, so much so that it is more similar to a Michael Bay movie than something with an interesting or good story.

If I had never heard of Superman before, and they didn't call this Superman, I would say it's not for me. Since it IS a Superman movie, it falls even shorter.…Expand

I really wanted to enjoy this film. Truly. I even wrestled with the score of 0. Really 0 You give it nothing So I tried to think of something in the film I could give it a point for. Surely the special effects Well, no. Because the special effects are exactly what you've seen before in every other summer blockbuster. Nice, colourful, but without any heft, without any hinge intoI really wanted to enjoy this film. Truly. I even wrestled with the score of 0. Really 0 You give it nothing So I tried to think of something in the film I could give it a point for. Surely the special effects Well, no. Because the special effects are exactly what you've seen before in every other summer blockbuster. Nice, colourful, but without any heft, without any hinge into reality. A HD cartoon. Well then, story. Nope. No points for story. Because frankly, there is NO story telling here. You can't put people in peril and expect us to care if you haven't got us invested in them. Peril Yes. Care No. Ok, the acting. God, so wanted to give it 1 for Russell, but frankly, he's wasted here.

I knew within 5 minutes it was going to be bad. Leaden direction, no through line, no pacing, no fluidity. Exactly like A.N.Other big budget SFX heavy film. A series of "Whoa!" moments without any reason to go whoa. A massive special effect and a blaring piece of sinister music does not drama make.

The main crime here is that you won't care about anyone in the film and it will, no matter how fast it goes, bore you.…Expand

Superman? More like superboy. An after spending the first 20 min establishing an irrelevant relationship with his father and nemesis, an early scene shows what this version is really made of. Our hero is confronted by an ignorant truck driver and humiliated. Superboy's solution is to walk away without saying a word. Very shortly we find out that he walked out and committed an obviouslySuperman? More like superboy. An after spending the first 20 min establishing an irrelevant relationship with his father and nemesis, an early scene shows what this version is really made of. Our hero is confronted by an ignorant truck driver and humiliated. Superboy's solution is to walk away without saying a word. Very shortly we find out that he walked out and committed an obviously adolescent act by destroying the truck of the driver. The rest of the movie is built around justifications for superman behaving like a boy while all the women and men in uniform treat him like the second coming of christ. At one point he is even juxtaposed with the image of jesus as if the messiah message was to subtle. Visually satisfying at some moments is the best i can say about this movie. Wait for netflix.…Expand

The positive reception from the users on this site just goes to show how easily entertained people are. This movie is completely souless. Every character feels like a cardboard cut out, which is unforgivable when you cast the likes of Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, and Diane Lane. Man of Steel tries to be dark, and at times it is, but theThe positive reception from the users on this site just goes to show how easily entertained people are. This movie is completely souless. Every character feels like a cardboard cut out, which is unforgivable when you cast the likes of Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, and Diane Lane. Man of Steel tries to be dark, and at times it is, but the movie is a little too corny to be taken seriously. It's basically a slightly better version of a Michael Bay film, and that is obviously not meant as a compliment. I can't remember the last time I was more dissapointed in a movie, but I suppose that's my own fault for getting excited for a Superman movie.…Expand

Crappy screenplay overblown piece of junk. Highly disappointed. Could have been so much better. Superman looks like wonder women with short hair. A disaster to DC and anyone who was apart of this movie

It started off well enough in Krypton but then it stalled shorty after shifting to Earth and then completely went off the rails in the last hour The flashbacks kept dialing back to his struggles when I got it the first time. He's an adult when he is first shows on screen. He has been struggling since he was a kid. He went through 20+ years including all of his adult life without makingIt started off well enough in Krypton but then it stalled shorty after shifting to Earth and then completely went off the rails in the last hour The flashbacks kept dialing back to his struggles when I got it the first time. He's an adult when he is first shows on screen. He has been struggling since he was a kid. He went through 20+ years including all of his adult life without making much progress. At this point, Clarke is no longer confused, he has a learning disability. Parts of the dialogue were weak esp. where the military is shown to be caricatures incapable of telling friend from foe. The scene in Church was ridiculous. And Jor-El designs space craft but he couldn't think of disabling an outside key from overrding his. BUT Zod who, from birth was only programmed to defend Krypton and has presumably no designing talent outwitted him. I mean, the list goes om. I expect ridiculous from Trasformers but I expect much smarter from Superman.. The destructo-rama in the last act needed Michael Bay's help to direct traffic. No way this gets a passing mark.…Expand

There is no story-telling!Last 45 minutes of time is only action.Overloaded with actions, and of course very less humanity! Zack has preferred the 'Transformers-Dark of the moon' style for his superman reboot!!The romance between Lois and Clark was something very special, but in this movie their relationship is a 007 romance.Spectacular but no any fun nor humor

"Man of Steel" is by far one of the most contrived movies I've ever seen. The pacing is awful, the characters are unrelatable (Lois goes so far as to be downright annoying), and the plot is one contrived scenario after another. The logic is wishy-washy at best, preferring to just ignore facts than to take the time to explain them, and Superman's motivations are never truly clear, which"Man of Steel" is by far one of the most contrived movies I've ever seen. The pacing is awful, the characters are unrelatable (Lois goes so far as to be downright annoying), and the plot is one contrived scenario after another. The logic is wishy-washy at best, preferring to just ignore facts than to take the time to explain them, and Superman's motivations are never truly clear, which makes the entire character feel fake. Beyond that, though, Superman's role in the plot is almost nonexistent: one could take him out of the movie and have the exact same plot with better pacing. Don't waste your money on this one: it's not worth it.…Expand

Well, I will try to keep this short. I love super hero movies, love the D.C. universe in particular, and yes I have read the comics, seen previous movies and cartoons. This movie is by far the worse Superman movie and one of my top worse movies EVER! I did not mind the creative liberties that were taken with the story line, that is to be expected when someone adds their "spin" on anWell, I will try to keep this short. I love super hero movies, love the D.C. universe in particular, and yes I have read the comics, seen previous movies and cartoons. This movie is by far the worse Superman movie and one of my top worse movies EVER! I did not mind the creative liberties that were taken with the story line, that is to be expected when someone adds their "spin" on an established story.

The pacing was horrid! The tone was so monotone. The movie was going for the over the top serious feel. For me, it came off as corny and at times I found myself rolling my eyes at all of the dramatic screams. By the end of the movie I was thankful it was over. In short #disappointed

It's too bad, I really want a Justice League or A World's Finest Movie but if either were to be based on Man of Steel I would not hold high hopes of it being any good.…Expand

In the year's biggest disappointment Man Of Steel manages to give us the trailers, hype and intimate story we like being from Chris Nolan. However everything you saw in the trailers have been mashed into a superhero epic that has pacing problems, narrative problems and it's an unfortunate mess. There are a few things to like here, but it's in the final hour of excrutiating overlong actionIn the year's biggest disappointment Man Of Steel manages to give us the trailers, hype and intimate story we like being from Chris Nolan. However everything you saw in the trailers have been mashed into a superhero epic that has pacing problems, narrative problems and it's an unfortunate mess. There are a few things to like here, but it's in the final hour of excrutiating overlong action that is the regurditation of a draining party.…Expand

I couldn't finish it. The effects are great and Shannon and Crowe were definitely into it, but the storytelling is awful. The movie is clearly rushing towards its precious action sequences that it ends up undermining the entire movie. The pacing is terrible, time skips nonsensical, many plot points don't make sense or serve the plot in any way, character development is awful, and the movieI couldn't finish it. The effects are great and Shannon and Crowe were definitely into it, but the storytelling is awful. The movie is clearly rushing towards its precious action sequences that it ends up undermining the entire movie. The pacing is terrible, time skips nonsensical, many plot points don't make sense or serve the plot in any way, character development is awful, and the movie has a bad habit of telling rather than showing. Even during some of the admittedly astonishing part of the movie, I was unmoved and was never awestruck. This movie apes at The Avengers or the Nolan Batman movies and fails at both. It never establishes a coherent tone, and all its action sequences are undermined by poor pacing and storytelling. One of the worst movies I've seen in a while.…Expand

It kind of breaks my heart to see anyone give this movie a high rating, it means that two-dimensional, formulaic movies are more important than character and story. And when you're talking about an iconic character like Superman, I think that's almost a crime. From the get-go, when CGI monsters are attacking Krypton, I knew things were off. The introduction of an "S" as meaningIt kind of breaks my heart to see anyone give this movie a high rating, it means that two-dimensional, formulaic movies are more important than character and story. And when you're talking about an iconic character like Superman, I think that's almost a crime. From the get-go, when CGI monsters are attacking Krypton, I knew things were off. The introduction of an "S" as meaning something Kryptonian is also just silly. There's not even a breath of the Clark Kent many of us grew up reading and watching in film and movies this is a total 'reimagining' this Kent is charmless and dour, and ruled largely by fear in this movie. Fear of being found out, fear of being different. A Superman crafted of these elements tells a totally different story it was never Superman's though. It was Batman's, Spider-Man's, and a ton of other heroes, but never Superman's. The dialogue is so stiff and cheesy, which might work in a comic-book interpretation but here they're trying to make Superman into something emo and pouty, so it just comes off as contrived. The effects are okay and the action works, but that's where all the attention went and for a movie about the origins of a superhero, such a lack of character development is surprising. Then there's just stuff like people wandering around in arctic climates in just a coat, no problem that sort of thing. But the biggest sin of this movie is that instead of being thoughtful, soulful fun built around very solid characters, like the Christopher Reeve movies, this one tries to make huge over-the-top action sequences be the 'fun' part. I just feel it falls short on so many levels. We're not supposed to think of Superman as badass. We're supposed to think of him as our greatest advocate and defender a man of unwavering character who doesn't have to think twice about motive or intent. He always does the right thing, the good thing. He's SUPERMAN. Here he's just an 'every guy' trying to make it in this world with superpowers. Superman was always bigger than that. It is in fact what set him apart from all the Spider-Mans, Wolverines, Green Lanterns, Avengers, etc etc etc. Oh sure, he played cat-and-mouse with his identity (a single pair of glasses magically managed that for him for decades), but I don't think the intent of the story was ever to feel bad about his role, almost like he's a victim. Superman always was, and always should be, a representative of the opposite of that he's the guy who never thinks twice about his role or place and just always strives to do what's right by the human race and does it with a smile. All while being a nerdy reporter on the side. I don't know where any of this went.…Expand

this movie is a pretentious ego trip for david goyer, christopher nolan and zack snyder.
it has little to no character development or structure, it's all symbolism and talk with vary little substance and the product placement was just sad

As much as I wanted to like this movie, it was terrible. Not a funny terrible, but a forgettable atrocious experience. Acting's off in many scenes, green screen is large and destroys the epic flight scenes, everything about this movie that could've been good is squandered by this need to go beyond what was necessary. The saving grace is it's potential, but it ultimately falls flat. I goAs much as I wanted to like this movie, it was terrible. Not a funny terrible, but a forgettable atrocious experience. Acting's off in many scenes, green screen is large and destroys the epic flight scenes, everything about this movie that could've been good is squandered by this need to go beyond what was necessary. The saving grace is it's potential, but it ultimately falls flat. I go with the critics on this one; it wasn't great by any means.…Expand

This looks like a (similar) job for Superman! Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Super… Excuse me. For a big budget motion picture remake of perhaps the most recognizable comic book superhero Man of Steel is a tamely run-of-the-mill effort. It is generic blockbuster personified, and is a bleak, characterless, lacklustre, uninspiring, disjointed and overly rigid entry inThis looks like a (similar) job for Superman! Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Super… Excuse me. For a big budget motion picture remake of perhaps the most recognizable comic book superhero Man of Steel is a tamely run-of-the-mill effort. It is generic blockbuster personified, and is a bleak, characterless, lacklustre, uninspiring, disjointed and overly rigid entry in an intermittent franchise, which ironically struggles to take off. What's the "S" stand for? Well in my world it stands for Super-Serious as opposed to Superman. Never before has a superhero been so unwilling to express any discernible passion for their cause, simply maintaining an impassive poker face the whole time. The fate of mankind hangs in the balance, Superman to the rescue! Screams excitement right; however, Zack Snyder has somehow turned this tried and tested premise into a dreary, rather monotonous exploit, even if the visuals and set pieces verge on stunning; more dull and lifeless than dark and gritty. Henry Cavill is cool, calm and collected as Superman; however, he comes across overly reserved and emotionless far too often. Cavills' steely resolve is rarely visibly tested even if the goings-on impart otherwise, rendering his portrayal of Superman a tad difficult to adhere to on a humanistic level. In addition to this, he appears sound in the fabled suit but his rendering of the celebrated superhero comes across too deliberate and noticeably premeditated, although he does find his feet towards the end when the movie is given a much-needed shot of adrenaline. Man of Steel lacks fluidity, it is apportioned with often brisk and abrupt scene changes, and provides an unkempt collation and abstract composition of extracts and gestures to scenes from other movies. It is also complacent on character introduction, being naive in thinking we all know about the characters enough to not have to shed too much light on them; notably a lackadaisical introduction to Lois Lane and her backstory, further marred by a romance kindled out of thin air. All in all, Man of Steel supplies a moderately attention-grabbing experience, albeit unhurried and void of any palpable sentiment. In addition, it does not break any new ground and sets an overstatedly grim-faced tone that future installments in the notoriously up-and-down series that has experienced its fair share of highs and lows in the past will have to address if they are to garner the widespread approval of the audience.

Maybe somebody should have gave Superman's cape a tug and told him you're doing it wrong.

For more movie reviews visit: http://toddsmoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk…Expand

Not sure if I'm in the minority on this one, but this movie was overall a disappointing mess. Being at least produced by Chris Nolan, I expected so much more. Instead what I got was a snobby Lois Lane who had terribly modest and even cheesy dialogue, a "Superman" who was developed in a rather sloppy way, unintentionally hilarious moments, and a villain who yelled at the camera half of theNot sure if I'm in the minority on this one, but this movie was overall a disappointing mess. Being at least produced by Chris Nolan, I expected so much more. Instead what I got was a snobby Lois Lane who had terribly modest and even cheesy dialogue, a "Superman" who was developed in a rather sloppy way, unintentionally hilarious moments, and a villain who yelled at the camera half of the time. Not to go overboard, I will simply say that I did not like this movie. I can acknowledge some pros though: the Super suit was cool, Zod's "purpose for which I was born" monologue in the final act was cool, and the sequences in space were breathtaking. Still, Man of Steel had nearly NO CROWD PLEASING MOMENTS....the comic relief moments spread in the movie were a hit-or-miss and would gain maybe one chuckle or a laugh out of the audience. And don't get me started on the action sequences....don't get me wrong, I love a good action movie, when it's well served. I highly enjoyed Fast 6 because it didn't try to be more than what it was, a simple mindless action-packed popcorn flick with well-placed humor and overall solid pacing. However Man of Steels action....boy was I bored by it. Explosions and skyscrapers collapsing left and right and even some annoying shaky cam in certain sequences that voided any chances of my investment. One of my friends mentioned two Easter eggs in the film: A Luthor truck and a satellite in space owned by Wayne Industries...BUT... since I WASN'T invested in the movie thanks to a sloppy and awkwardly paced script, I didn't notice these Easter eggs at all unfortunately. I personally felt also that the opening in Krypton was cool at first, but soon became over-extended. Am I the only one who felt that the special effects in this film weren't that impressive? If I am, so be it. Clark Kent/Kal-El's development was rather modest...it could've been done much better and more depth could've been put into it. Instead, the scenes of his upbringing would come in awkwardly and they felt kind of intrusive at times. This movie felt very inconsistent in terms of writing. Man of Steel's pacing was incredibly sloppy. One scene Kal-El was in a ship, then he was in a bar, then he was in the north pole, then he was suddenly Superman. Yeah, not very consistent pacing if you ask me. Overall, I was incredibly disappointed by this film. I really wanted to love Man of Steel. I wanted an excellent Superman flick with a terrific origins story that resembled the quality of Batman Begins. Man of Steel was hyped up well, but terribly under-delivered.…Expand

More of the way over the top special effects attempting to make up for lack of story and characterization. Not surprised given that Zack Snyder directed. Only plus: ability to fast-forward through the interminably stupid fight scenes since I rented it from Red Box.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
I don't like when a movies are shouldn't be such blatant PR for Christianity at least not so drench in holy water. Over used main villain but praise to city busting fight scene finally superman has his powers back…Expand

"Man Of Steel" was a great effort at bringing life back to the Superman franchise but fell short of that goal. The actors & actresses in the film all did a stellar job giving their characters what they needed to bring them to life but without a compelling story, even they couldn't save this film. "Man Of Steel" ultimately is an entertaining film but is easily one of the weaker super hero"Man Of Steel" was a great effort at bringing life back to the Superman franchise but fell short of that goal. The actors & actresses in the film all did a stellar job giving their characters what they needed to bring them to life but without a compelling story, even they couldn't save this film. "Man Of Steel" ultimately is an entertaining film but is easily one of the weaker super hero films to be released.…Expand

The Nolanites and Hack Snyder fan boys are in self-denial that this was a horrible film. It makes them want to cry when every reputable critic has pointed out the glaring flaws with this mess. Blatant ripping off every other summer blockbuster that came from it including Independence Day, Avatar, and Transformers while trying desperately to be all serious like The Dark Knight. SupermanThe Nolanites and Hack Snyder fan boys are in self-denial that this was a horrible film. It makes them want to cry when every reputable critic has pointed out the glaring flaws with this mess. Blatant ripping off every other summer blockbuster that came from it including Independence Day, Avatar, and Transformers while trying desperately to be all serious like The Dark Knight. Superman is a fantasy film and not a dark grim ripoff of Batman which it also tries but fails badly. Worst movie of 2013 and any followup or sequel to this tripe will be worse.…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
I hated it. The violence was unnecessary, the story was dragged out, and I'm pretty sure Superman killed more people than he actually saved, with all those buildings he destroyed and streets he laid waste to.…Expand

Kevin Costner jumps in a tornado to show superman how it works. He dies. I've laughed for the rest of the film. Lois imprisoned in the room with every single button to escape from the ship, people trapped in a cock shaped ship that want revenge.

Not only is MOS a complete failure as an action movie, it's a total betrayal of what the character stands for. While the dark and gritty tone worked great for the fittingly brooding Nolan Batman films, the terrible Zack Snyder is in over his head here and knows only how to direct special effects. A truly terrible movie.

Man of Steel is more of an action film, not a superhero film, and departs a lot from the Superman character. Yes, Krypton is there, the Kents are there and the Daily Planet is there but the film does nothing to develop Superman or Clark as a character; only really being fleshed out when we see Clark growing and using his powers for the first time.

The first half of Man of Steel, thoughMan of Steel is more of an action film, not a superhero film, and departs a lot from the Superman character. Yes, Krypton is there, the Kents are there and the Daily Planet is there but the film does nothing to develop Superman or Clark as a character; only really being fleshed out when we see Clark growing and using his powers for the first time.

The first half of Man of Steel, though too dark in tone for my liking and especially for Superman, is quite good, showing the building of character relationships and some emotional moments between them. Any sign of 'heart', however, is just thrown out of the window and through several buildings in Metropolis at the very moment that Zod begins his 'alien invasion', leaving the viewer to sit through mindless action that just goes on and on, with little to no progression, making the story go nowhere.

My biggest issue with Snyder's film is that it just does not feel like a Superman film. Where is that Superman magic that the first Donner film entailed? I appreciate the "updated" origin story and that we're essentially seeing Superman starting out but we never get to see him save someone in the suit. Henry Cavill was a great choice for Superman but he was just not given enough to do in the film, making his character, and a lot of the characters in the film, very empty, never letting the audience care for any of them (apart from perhaps Mama and Papa Kent).

If this is what SUPER man has become then we might as well pack it up and wait to die. Maybe the next species can do a better job of existing. On the other hand the movie does have some really neato CGI , very emotional music attached to forced drama, and a lot of other crap that fools the dumb popcorn eating masses into thinking it is good.

It''s pretty funny that this is supposed to be the new grittier, hard edged Superman. This is just more Hollywood hokum it doesn't even rise to the level of psychobabble. We hear ad naseum that "you are the chosen one" and "I must choose between my people and my adopted people." What evs supiedupe...this pap is unbelievably shallow. The writers didn't even try.
He wears a giant S on hisIt''s pretty funny that this is supposed to be the new grittier, hard edged Superman. This is just more Hollywood hokum it doesn't even rise to the level of psychobabble. We hear ad naseum that "you are the chosen one" and "I must choose between my people and my adopted people." What evs supiedupe...this pap is unbelievably shallow. The writers didn't even try.
He wears a giant S on his CGI unitard that we learn means "Hope" is that hope as in hopey-changy or is that just a team-building T-shirt? Come on, leave some mystery, like the S has some secret Kyptony meaning.
This is supposed to be the now generations' movie yet when people in the street watch the 911 destruction of their city, they stand there with their mouths catch-fly open and don't even pull out a cell phone for a selfie!
That's just one of the minor gaping black-hole plotlines. The biggest is that this can't be an origin story when Supie hasn't yet earned street cred now he's caused Earth a whole pantload of problems and yet no one knows who he is! He would def be a parriah and run out of town on a rail.
Other ridiculous holes include Kevin Costner standing in a tornado without a hair out of place and Amy Adams falling though the atmosphere in a crapstorm of debris and not even a mote of dust on her cheek.
The LL character is a major disappointment, no edge at all, in the end just another helpless fem.
The boring CGI video game scenes held no drama, who cared at least the cartoon versions of this character inspired one to root for Supie. I guess 12 year-old boys will find this movie immensely satisfying...not that there's everything wrong with that.…Expand

Instead of trying to make this "The Dark Knight 2.0" with the depressingly dark tone and overwhelming focus on the back-stories, Zack Snyder & The Company should have tried a different approach - a more fun and relaxed one would have been welcome.

I did not like this movie. Watching (nearly) indestructable people throw each other into objects is pretty boring. Then Superman simply breaks the bad guys neck...like why didn't he just do that in the first place. Looking back on it I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from watching it. I like some of Zach Snyders other movies, this screwed the pooch in my opinion.

Truly dreadful. I was amazed at how bad it was. I had medium to high expectations when I decided to finally watch it, and maaan was I disappointed. Truth be told, I fell asleep during the movie, and had to watch the rest of it the next day. I am very sad that I did. It sucked!

a Superman film that's embarrassed to be Superman, Lois exists for the sole job of Exposition, No emotional impact at all like the Trailers sold it to have. but hey if you like Transformers 3 and cant wait to see Transformers 4 this is the perfect movie for you, a Main actor who is as good as a Plank of wood with a cape, Action that's just there to blow up and a resolution that leavesa Superman film that's embarrassed to be Superman, Lois exists for the sole job of Exposition, No emotional impact at all like the Trailers sold it to have. but hey if you like Transformers 3 and cant wait to see Transformers 4 this is the perfect movie for you, a Main actor who is as good as a Plank of wood with a cape, Action that's just there to blow up and a resolution that leaves even the dumbest DC fanboys in shock as to just how dumb it is. 1/10 and that 1 stands for the 1 time i saw the film and will never watch this train wreck gain.…Expand

A joyless 2+ hour long video game cinematic that forgot to include the "hero" in superhero. If the endless DBZ fighting scenes and mindless punching are your thing, yeah, you'll enjoy it. The movie kept talking about 'hope' and Clark being destined for more, but when the world is falling around him you expect him to at least occasionally save lives along the way. I don't have a problemA joyless 2+ hour long video game cinematic that forgot to include the "hero" in superhero. If the endless DBZ fighting scenes and mindless punching are your thing, yeah, you'll enjoy it. The movie kept talking about 'hope' and Clark being destined for more, but when the world is falling around him you expect him to at least occasionally save lives along the way. I don't have a problem with how the fight with Zod ended, but I do have a problem that the buildup wasn't there so the victory/choice wasn't truly earned. After thousands of people die (which he stops to stand over their corpses to kiss Lois, ugh not a romantic moment), he suddenly cares about four idiots in a subway who don't know how to run away? Not convincing. This frat boy punch face stuff just does not comprehend the heart and joy of the Superman franchise.

The only reason this movie is not getting a '0' is because Zod was a well-acted, well-portrayed villain despite the strange voice impediment, and the Krypton stuff at the beginning was fun (though again, favored action over depth, at least it had more depth than the rest of the movie).

This movie also has the most pointless death ever. Because even though he's fast enough to be a blur, they needed some B.S. dramatic moment that 'looked cool' for some dumbass reason.

Awful movie. Made me realize how much better Superman Returns was because of all the things it got right despite being a flawed movie.

Don't watch Man of $teel. With any luck the Batman/Superman movie will be better, but I doubt it, because jock-brained Zach Snyder is still helming it.…Expand

horrible
characters
costume
villains
story
battle, action scenes
it's really boring to see movies, story that I already know.
tired of same superheroes.
I like Superman when they rescue people from accidents, disaster, hostage, burglar.
but boring when they fight with villains, superheroes villains.

What a disappointment! What a cobbled together reel of clips, jumping from place to place and time to time! With nonsensical renditions of SOME of the historical elements, and new illusions that make the ongoing story virtually impossible, as Lois knows who he is from the beginning!

Also, since no one even knew him before he became the reason for this invasion of Earth and itsWhat a disappointment! What a cobbled together reel of clips, jumping from place to place and time to time! With nonsensical renditions of SOME of the historical elements, and new illusions that make the ongoing story virtually impossible, as Lois knows who he is from the beginning!

Also, since no one even knew him before he became the reason for this invasion of Earth and its possible annihilation, who would want the guy around!?

And, what's with the incessant destruction, without regard for human life, as they meaninglessly push each other around through buildings, knowing they're supposedly invulnerable!

This looks more like another silly effort for a franchise that could be one of the best movies every year it came out, with a lineage like James Bond but superhuman; but they keep getting these troubled, misguided directors who want to recreate the myth! It's ridiculous!…Expand

The soulless byproduct of committee thinking: no heart, no warmth, no character, no charm; and a script that has all of the narrative sophistication of the back of a dozen cereal boxes stapled together and left in the rain.

This is the best superman movie ever made. Unfortunately, it is still unwatchable. This movie had a bad plot,and dragged on far too long. The fight scenes all felt like they should have ended 10 minutes befor they actually did. At the half way point I was begging for it to be over. I strongly suggest you avoid this one at all costs.

When the teaser trailer hit, i was interested. When the full trailer hit, i was really excited. Then i saw the movie, which I was looking forward to as being one of the best of the summer. What a disappointment. The action is boring and overly-long. The plot is only there when it needs to be. The acting is sub-par at points. The writers took the plot from The Matrix, added in some AvengersWhen the teaser trailer hit, i was interested. When the full trailer hit, i was really excited. Then i saw the movie, which I was looking forward to as being one of the best of the summer. What a disappointment. The action is boring and overly-long. The plot is only there when it needs to be. The acting is sub-par at points. The writers took the plot from The Matrix, added in some Avengers action scenes and called it a day. This movie is mediocre at best.…Expand

Very disappointed! Having been a fan since the first movie in 1978, enjoyed the 2nd movie immensely and even Superman Returns which I watched again last night before seeing Man of Steel.
The hype said realism (which I know with the universe is a stretch) but the other movies felt more realistic and this was a jumble of noise and CGI like Transformers, however even those movies felt moreVery disappointed! Having been a fan since the first movie in 1978, enjoyed the 2nd movie immensely and even Superman Returns which I watched again last night before seeing Man of Steel.
The hype said realism (which I know with the universe is a stretch) but the other movies felt more realistic and this was a jumble of noise and CGI like Transformers, however even those movies felt more coherent than this mess.
There were some sparks of interesting layout to the movie like Clark growing up and Lois showing integrity by not exposing him to the world, but really this is not in the same league as other superhero movies over the past few years.
I would have preferred a sequel to Superman Returns than this...…Expand

This is the worst movie I have seen in years. It is over the top noise and blowing up stuff. It was grey and noisy at best and the dialog was almost pathetic. It was chopped up, badly edited, horribly written. I can not understand all the good reviews written for this film. It has been years since I walked out on a movie, but I walked out on this one. I could not stand the over theThis is the worst movie I have seen in years. It is over the top noise and blowing up stuff. It was grey and noisy at best and the dialog was almost pathetic. It was chopped up, badly edited, horribly written. I can not understand all the good reviews written for this film. It has been years since I walked out on a movie, but I walked out on this one. I could not stand the over the top battle scenes one second longer. Way too dragged out. Horrible movie! Absolutely horrible.…Expand

I LOVE Superman.... I grew up loving Superman. Perhaps its that fact that made watching this film so difficult. It is a 2 and a half hour disaster. There is so little dialogue that the film is basically overblown fight scenes followed by repeated action shots of people who seem too stupid to run away from entire buildings blowing up.

The film is so mindless that the only spoiler isI LOVE Superman.... I grew up loving Superman. Perhaps its that fact that made watching this film so difficult. It is a 2 and a half hour disaster. There is so little dialogue that the film is basically overblown fight scenes followed by repeated action shots of people who seem too stupid to run away from entire buildings blowing up.

The film is so mindless that the only spoiler is to tell you that after two and a half hours you will be two and a half hours older and ten dollars poorer....

This film did accomplish one thing however... it managed to make Bryan Singer's Superman look like brilliant. Stay away...…Expand

Not gonna lie, this is the worst Superman movie. Even the God awful musical from the mid seventies stands tall over this diarrhea-fest. People have said that it's like Dragon Ball Z, but I think those people are like Peter Griffin in that THEY'RE MORONS. The plot is soooo freaking cliche and boring, everyone but superman is poorly developed (if at all) and acting abounds. The fights areNot gonna lie, this is the worst Superman movie. Even the God awful musical from the mid seventies stands tall over this diarrhea-fest. People have said that it's like Dragon Ball Z, but I think those people are like Peter Griffin in that THEY'RE MORONS. The plot is soooo freaking cliche and boring, everyone but superman is poorly developed (if at all) and acting abounds. The fights are lame and somehow less interesting than those in Transformers 3. I really don't see how anyone likes this movie and there's already a sequel in the works so perhaps next time we'll get a good villain and a good actor to play him unlike this time around...…Expand

Produced on a $225 million budget, the special effects are the only thing that impress. At least at the beginning. After the 597th explosion and the 245th fighting scene you just get bored of all the noise and the visual effects that try to be realistic but are just too big to look in any way compelling. Little dialogue and even less story just give the film the last "kick in the ass". IProduced on a $225 million budget, the special effects are the only thing that impress. At least at the beginning. After the 597th explosion and the 245th fighting scene you just get bored of all the noise and the visual effects that try to be realistic but are just too big to look in any way compelling. Little dialogue and even less story just give the film the last "kick in the ass". I seriously tried to be impressed, to be thrilled but by any means I was bound to fail!…Expand

Extreme disappointment to say the least. After a rocking Iron Man 3, Amazing Spiderman and Avengers, this is the exact opposite. Pathetic direction by Zack Snyder the film lacks soul and actors mouth dialogues for the sake of saying it, without any emotional connect. Dialogues are ridiculous and childish, and the action/special effects is quite boring/repetitive actually. NothingExtreme disappointment to say the least. After a rocking Iron Man 3, Amazing Spiderman and Avengers, this is the exact opposite. Pathetic direction by Zack Snyder the film lacks soul and actors mouth dialogues for the sake of saying it, without any emotional connect. Dialogues are ridiculous and childish, and the action/special effects is quite boring/repetitive actually. Nothing earth-breaking or new for those of us who have seen Avengers, Spiderman or Iron Man. Screenplay is very haphazard, going to and fro between flashbacks and present day without clarity. Some scenes appear out of nowhere. Most disappointing is the climax...after lots of punching and destroying buildings, Superman kills the villian by twisting his head!! Couldn't he have done it the minute he met this guy? The Superman series is clearly not in safe hands. Someone like David Fincher could breath fresh life into it. Please hire him for the next.…Expand

whiny
depressive
sad
over a thousand 10,9,8, eh metacritic.
How sad
This movie is just a sad mess-and the fanboyisms showing up here is proof.
Nothing in this movie works and the fact the so many have come to scream their disapproval is typical of the fingers in the ears approach to life.
When 2 comes out, it had better be a far better movie, but with Nolans on the last 2 dcuwhiny
depressive
sad

over a thousand 10,9,8, eh metacritic.
How sad

This movie is just a sad mess-and the fanboyisms showing up here is proof.
Nothing in this movie works and the fact the so many have come to scream their disapproval is typical of the fingers in the ears approach to life.
When 2 comes out, it had better be a far better movie, but with Nolans on the last 2 dcu films, I doubt it.…Expand

this movie sucks so badly. i think superman return 2006 was better then this crap.............................. F THIS MOVIE...................................................................it sucks. the acting is terrible and the action isnt very good

I'll preface this by saying that I don't like Zack Snyder, so I think I went into this movie with an unfair bias against him. That said, this movie was terrible. The opening scene on Krypton actually looked really cool, if you could see it. The cinematography was so shaky that you couldn't actually concentrate on what was happening. I don't mind the dark tone that Snyder takes, but he justI'll preface this by saying that I don't like Zack Snyder, so I think I went into this movie with an unfair bias against him. That said, this movie was terrible. The opening scene on Krypton actually looked really cool, if you could see it. The cinematography was so shaky that you couldn't actually concentrate on what was happening. I don't mind the dark tone that Snyder takes, but he just can't pull it off. The script was terrible, it became either a laugh or cringe fest whenever anyone opened their mouth. The action looked like a video game, unrealistic, much too fast, and entirely over the top. I don't even want to talk about the science...just awful. And of course, the acting. I love Amy Adams but what the heck? All she did was scream and cry and she was some of the better acting. Russel Crowe was tolerable, Kevin Costner was mediocre, Henry Cavill doesn't pull off the inner struggle that Snyder wants him to have, and everyone else is absolutely horrid. Micheal Shannon was the absolute worst part of the film, and his portrayal of General Zod was soul-less without Superman taking it from him. Do not go and see this unless you enjoy bad movies or have a unique sense of humor. I was lucky that I got my ticket for free, and I'd certainly hate to see anyone actually spend money on this.…Expand

Something tells me that many of the high scores and posts are from some PR firm hired by Warner Bros., because this movie was a train wreck. Anybody with a modicum of taste in a well scripted, paced and directed film would agree. Attempting to bring a Batman-like seriousness to Man of Steel was an EPIC FAILURE! "Batman" had a well executed story! True, it's my opinion...although mySomething tells me that many of the high scores and posts are from some PR firm hired by Warner Bros., because this movie was a train wreck. Anybody with a modicum of taste in a well scripted, paced and directed film would agree. Attempting to bring a Batman-like seriousness to Man of Steel was an EPIC FAILURE! "Batman" had a well executed story! True, it's my opinion...although my teenage boys didn't even like it! That's pretty telling. It's not an awful movie, it just seems to be two distinctly different movies in one. One part, life of a young boy dealing with being different while being raised in a small town (which, was not bad story telling in this film), and the other part, this over the top Michael Bay "Transformers" battle to the death, chock full of extraneous dialogue. Cavill is a "good looking" Superman for the eye candy crowd, in fact in the movie a character of a female cop sheepishly admits to this. However, this Superman is not a lot of fun, in fact he's pretty bland. Perhaps this Clark Kent should spend some time hanging out with "Iron Man" Tony Stark for a lesson in loosening up a bit.…Expand

Lifeless product. Not the loving film we deserve for time and money. Thirty years from now, no one will cite this film as an example of good film making, but Richard Donner's Superman will always be remembered.

Disappointing. One of the most unimaginative creations to come out of Hollywood in a long time. Special effects distracted from what story there was. Minimal character development. Plenty of explosions, weapons and fistfights, though. I wondered frequently throughout if I was actually watching a "Superman" movie.

Another super-hero reboot movie, however this one falls short. It's way too serious for its own good, trying to mimic the tone of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies to no success. It focuses too much on being melodramatic and that brings the whole movie down. The action is interesting at times, mostly when Super Man is fighting his foes in mid-air, but ends relying on huge explosions andAnother super-hero reboot movie, however this one falls short. It's way too serious for its own good, trying to mimic the tone of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies to no success. It focuses too much on being melodramatic and that brings the whole movie down. The action is interesting at times, mostly when Super Man is fighting his foes in mid-air, but ends relying on huge explosions and disasters rather than satisfying fights. It ends up being too noisy both visually and aurally. But by far the worst thing about this movie is how it doesn't feel like a super-hero movie, but rather some generic alien invasion flick. I never cared about what was going on, the characters failed to grab me in any way, and outside of the occasional cool action scene this movie ended up being a waste of time. It's all so disappointing because this was supposed to bring Super Man back with a new tone. If this is how the rest of the Super Man movies are going to turn out they need to just stop now. It even makes me worry that, if one ever gets made, the future Justice League movie will fail.…Expand

I usually don't write reviews, but I had to warn you.
I'm not one of those snobs who can't enjoy a summer flick, and some of my favorite movies are not academy-award material. But this movie is the first to make me it was such a stupid waste of time, that I left the cinema with my friends.
The movie just takes itself too seriously and ends up not being fun. It's like watching a kidI usually don't write reviews, but I had to warn you.
I'm not one of those snobs who can't enjoy a summer flick, and some of my favorite movies are not academy-award material. But this movie is the first to make me it was such a stupid waste of time, that I left the cinema with my friends.

The movie just takes itself too seriously and ends up not being fun. It's like watching a kid telling you a simple story, while being all serious and so sure it's the greatest most important story in the world.

The dramatic scenes, which could have been the highlight of the movie, are cut too short for the effect to hold. It seems Snyder was worried his audience will get bored by actual story and just cut it down to a minimum in a way which, frankly, was insulting. It's like watching a movie with ADHD.

The bit of story that did make it in, is full of absolutely idiotic holes, and the characters are flat and undeveloped. I wish I could give you examples without spoiling the movie, but I can't. I can just say that I was laughing occasionally because it was so ridiculous and poorly written. So many "come on!" and "Are you serious" moments. Most characters act out of whim, are totally irrational and they all feel like they are still in junior high.

And the love story? Twilight fans should be pleased, because we finally found a movie with a worse love story. In this movie, there is simply no story. There's no love, and then there is, just like that with barely any justification.

The action sequences are terribly long and overdone, as if a little kid took control over the CGI studio and forced them to put his wildest fantasies into the movie. The action was rare and when it did arrive, it was way too much and not really fun. The visuals were very professional but lacked soul, ranging from generic computer game look to a terrible Instagram palette. Honestly, it was disappointing and not worth the price of admission.

Eventually, during the great (boring to tears) finale, me and my friends realized we're not that target audience (We are a group of 24-30 years old). But knowing myself, I wouldn't have enjoyed this whimsical movie even at age 10. It's just not fun. We left and got something to eat instead.

I realize there are a lot of fans out there, so before you send me any hate mail, just remember it's a matter of opinion. I found this movie to be a terrible experience for intelligent adults, but that's not a universal fact. It's just an opinion! …Expand

As a long time Superman fan I had great hopes and expectations for this film. I was very disappointed with this film. Superman: The Man of Steel is NOT a good Superman film; it's not even a good movie. I could go on and write a short story length review of this film and list what's wrong with it but instead I'll just get to the main points. First, Zack Snyder was a poor choice forAs a long time Superman fan I had great hopes and expectations for this film. I was very disappointed with this film. Superman: The Man of Steel is NOT a good Superman film; it's not even a good movie. I could go on and write a short story length review of this film and list what's wrong with it but instead I'll just get to the main points. First, Zack Snyder was a poor choice for director (where is Richard Donner when you need him?). He is NOT the right director for the character of Superman. He was great for Watchman but Superman is not anything like WATCHMEN. Second, the score was AWFUL! There are no discernible themes for anything in this movie. Thirdly, the action scenes were WAY over the top and just ridiculous. This movie was so bad it makes Superman Returns look like a classic and Superman:The Movie look like the best movie of human history (which it almost is!). Bottom line: don't waste you time on this piece of cinematic garbage. Especially if you are a fan of Superman. You WILL be disappointed. I only hope this movie fails to meet the studio's expectations so we don't see anymore of these abominations!!…Expand

Hmm. A mixed bag, this one. The Lord of the Rings style Krypton in the Prologue came as a bit of surprise but not an unwelcome one. The film really came alive, however, once baby Kal-El made it to earth. The growing pains and adoption issues of the first act were beautifully handled and the relationship between Clark and his (human) father and mother was really very touching. But then...Hmm. A mixed bag, this one. The Lord of the Rings style Krypton in the Prologue came as a bit of surprise but not an unwelcome one. The film really came alive, however, once baby Kal-El made it to earth. The growing pains and adoption issues of the first act were beautifully handled and the relationship between Clark and his (human) father and mother was really very touching. But then... well. What happenedin the next two acts? I'll tell you what happened. What happened was that chauvanist arse of an executive producer, Jon Peters (ex-hairdresser to Barbara Streisand) finally got his way after trying to screw up the Superman franchise with his lame-ass, ill-conceived ideas and lack of any real love for the Superman mythology. Peters has wanted for years to re-jig Superman's suit ("too apparently) and have Kryptonians bashing the hell out of each other (and Kansas... and Metropolis...) for a whole hour or more of my (and your) paid-for cinema-going time. The second and third acts of this film are like Independence Day kicking seven bells out of Battleship while Transformers stamps on the Matrix Revolutions' head. This might be a 14 year old boy's idea of a good movie. But it ain't mine. Come back Bryan Singer, all is forgiven.…Expand

The Man Of Steel Is Made of Cardboard! But At Least Henry Cavill Has Nice Muscles! What a shame such a great story turned into something so boring, tedious and annoying! Unfortunately for the Man of Steel, every story has a beginning, middle and end. Something the average person learns when they are in kindergarten or First Grade! All three parts of a story need to be done well or elseThe Man Of Steel Is Made of Cardboard! But At Least Henry Cavill Has Nice Muscles! What a shame such a great story turned into something so boring, tedious and annoying! Unfortunately for the Man of Steel, every story has a beginning, middle and end. Something the average person learns when they are in kindergarten or First Grade! All three parts of a story need to be done well or else it's no fun! A great beginning does not make-up for a mediocre middle or a disastrous ending!

The Man of Steel starts with a fantastic back story. For the very first time we really get to observe Krypton in all it's technological glory! Only to see the story slowly degenerate into camp with cardboard characters from the military that you could find in any comic books story. And, then like a car with a stuck accelerator, the story rapidly turns into another brainless war porn and 9/11-type flick (Chicago gets trashed instead of New York. When your story is so rotten you distract your audience by wrecking another major city! Wow! That was imaginative!)

Man Of Steel is also the ultimate product placement film. In fact, you could randomly choose a half-dozen movies that have been shown on the big screen this past year - and I'll bet you the Man of Steel has more product placement then all of them COMBINED! It was so obnoxious it was distracting! In the 45 years of watching movies I can only think of a handful of times that product placement has been this aggressive!! It's also symptomatic of an incredibly weak story!

The Man of Steel is so bad I was dying to walk out; but, I went to see the film with a friend so I felt obligated to stay. At least I had the sense to close my eyes and tune-out the last half hour of explosions, grunting and screaming in order to put my meditation skills to the test! I'm happy to report that even though I was totally sober I was able to completely tune-out the last 30 minutes of the Man of Steel and I could care less about what happened to any of the story's characters!…Expand

I judge movies based on what they promise versus what they deliver. The first MoS trailer and the following trailers promised a deep story centered on Clark and his quest on finding his place in the world to ultimately become the savior of humanity, this is what they were teasing in a nutshell. But instead what we got is a glorified Transformers-like movie: no real characters, no deepI judge movies based on what they promise versus what they deliver. The first MoS trailer and the following trailers promised a deep story centered on Clark and his quest on finding his place in the world to ultimately become the savior of humanity, this is what they were teasing in a nutshell. But instead what we got is a glorified Transformers-like movie: no real characters, no deep story, mostly stuff exploding for half the movie. The screenplay is particularly inept, it tries to cram so many insignificant details (do we absolutely need to know what the codex thingy came from or look like for example...) at the expense of smooth transitions (scenes can literally jump from two people in a room to them standing in the desert), character development (the characters are cardboard cut outs, and no, 3 flashbacks of 5 mins are not enough to actually flesh out a character sorry), and most importantly storytelling: indeed the whole movie is constructed like one giant exposition, you spend most of the time catching up on things that already happened instead of having the story naturally unfold before you, and it's not a particularly interesting or original one at that. So in conclusion, my hat's off to the marketing team, because they did a hell of a job hyping up this movie and making it look like something worthy of interest, I just wish the actual filmmakers could have been as competent as them.…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
Henry Cavill is the one major thing that makes this movie worth seeing. He’s vulnerable, but when the scene warrants it, he somehow brings exactly the amount of intimidating gravitas needed. For that reason, the interrogation scene with Lois at the mid-way point of the flick is easily my favorite it’s the moment that ultimately sold me on Cavill in the role. In that scene Kal-El is respectful, but he also carries himself in such a way that it makes you believe it when it’s noted that the military could never even hope to control him. To me, he is utterly believable, and a worthy successor to Christopher Reeve.

Despite being a glorified Jedi Knight, Russell Crowe made a decent father figure for Kal-El. The amount of screen time he had after being murdered was actually rather startling. No doubt because “Russell Crowe”.

I’m not entirely familiar with Michael Shannon, but as a bad guy he did his job proper as the Shouty Evil Madman. He’s no Terence Stamp, but this a different Khan. I mean Zod.

The rest of the cast was pretty much transparent. Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Costner, and Diane Lane seem to exist only to fill the required spaces in the script. None of them brings anything especially memorable to the table. I don’t blame them, as actors, because that’s reflective of the movie in general aside from plot issues, this version of Superman’s world is as dry as a saltine. In contrast, Margot Kidder and Jackie Cooper had immense personality. These same characters in the Man of Steel universe are largely forgettable.

Much like Star Trek Into Darkness, Man of Steel starts out pretty good, and then around the half-way point, things just begin falling apart. Once Zod re-enters the story, the whole thing descends into an almost endless sequence of fighting, explosions, and raw carnage.

During the numerous battles, Superman takes absolutely no care to keep people from getting killed…until it’s time for his close up at the end, of course. We see him purposely thrust his foes violently through seemingly occupied office buildings and causing gas pumps to explode. This version of Superman, at this point in his life, simply does not give an actual ****

If this was woven into a larger narrative about the consequences of unchecked power a hard, guilt-fueled lesson for Kal-El to learn this might almost be forgivable. But it’s never addressed, and nobody even blinks.

On one hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the exploration of the vulnerable Kal-El an outsider dealing with heavy childhood issues, raised in a harsh world not his own. But on the other hand, it really needed some moments of levity to balance things out. The movie is so friggin’ deadpan. I’m not asking for comedy, just a little something to take off the edge.

Because of this, it’s not fun. Batman is the one who’s story is supposed to be grim and serious. The flick only really loosens it’s sphincter at the very end, with the female soldier noting how hot Superman was. I let loose a small smirk finally but it was too little, too late.

On a more practical level, visually, the special effects are nearly flawless (but in 2013 that’s to be expected nowadays, movies can no longer coast on amazing visuals alone). But those visuals are bogged down by that dark, depressing, gritty, undersaturated, high-contrast, usually blue-tinted tone present in so many movies of this era. The “shakycam” look got tiresome pretty quick, as well.

The style might have worked if it was just limited to the childhood flashbacks, but it’s used everywhere. At the very least, the style matches the tone of the movie. But that’s definitely not a complement.

There was a lot of potential for something seriously great here, and we may, some day, see such a movie. A sequel with a better story, starring Cavill, could easily hit it out of the park if done right… but as it is, this was an ominous start to DC’s multi-film “Get Us Some of That Sweet Marvel Movie Cash” arc.

Worse, this movie seriously damages my optimism for the inevitable Justice League movie, and as a guy who tends to enjoy DC comics characters more than Marvel, that hurts quite a bit.…Expand

Action sequences drag on and are extremely repetitive. I watched identical looking buildings collapse and superman vs zod and company fight in seemingly identical action sequences too many times throughout the entirety of the movie. Plot was very cliché and acting was mediocre. If you are looking for high end cgi action sequences, that is about all you will get from watching this movie

I was very upset when I left this movie...expecting that this was the rehash of Superman as we know it, the writers and director decided to change the entire history of Superman to fit their overblown, overkill, over detroy whatever city they were in, and change all of the known facts of Superman, like Lois Lane knows that Clark Kent is Superman right away??? and Clark's father, JonathanI was very upset when I left this movie...expecting that this was the rehash of Superman as we know it, the writers and director decided to change the entire history of Superman to fit their overblown, overkill, over detroy whatever city they were in, and change all of the known facts of Superman, like Lois Lane knows that Clark Kent is Superman right away??? and Clark's father, Jonathan Kent, is killed by a tornado and NOT a heart attack??? And after he lands on earth, we go straight to 33 years later and he has a beard and works on a crab ship?? Why are all these hollywood types think that they are better than the original authors!!!! And all the KILLING!!! I almost walked out. I like Henry Cavill as superman but pleaaaaaaassssseee get someone who KNOWS superman history to write the next story and stop with all the special effects. A few are needed but not all the destruction. And where was metropolis???…Expand

I have to say, I thought this movie was awful. Superman had no character. He barely even had any lines. The story flowed without much logic and it made the movie feel like a 3 hour trailer. It felt a lot like a Michael Bay movie, except everyone knows what they're getting with him. Bay makes Bad Boys and Transformers, not exactly high caliber material to begin with. Snyder plays with someI have to say, I thought this movie was awful. Superman had no character. He barely even had any lines. The story flowed without much logic and it made the movie feel like a 3 hour trailer. It felt a lot like a Michael Bay movie, except everyone knows what they're getting with him. Bay makes Bad Boys and Transformers, not exactly high caliber material to begin with. Snyder plays with some pretty important works and just totally blows it. 4/10…Expand

Terrible. Plot holes throughout. Then scenes where they do something that makes no sense just to keep the weak plot moving. This is not a good movie. The special effects were good, but the story just ruins it. Seriously, at one point Superman is being beaten, with no hope to win, then he just wins. That happens like 4 times in the movie. I know it's science fiction, but give meTerrible. Plot holes throughout. Then scenes where they do something that makes no sense just to keep the weak plot moving. This is not a good movie. The special effects were good, but the story just ruins it. Seriously, at one point Superman is being beaten, with no hope to win, then he just wins. That happens like 4 times in the movie. I know it's science fiction, but give me something at least somewhat believable.…Expand

My youngest son fell asleep before the end. After Avengers he told me it was the bes t movie ever My oldest one told me that if they were not blowing up a building every few seconds at the end he would have probably fell asleep too. Why not let the material speak for itself used bad guys that were never on the big screen before and DC might get a shot at this. Those movies are sci-fiMy youngest son fell asleep before the end. After Avengers he told me it was the bes t movie ever My oldest one told me that if they were not blowing up a building every few seconds at the end he would have probably fell asleep too. Why not let the material speak for itself used bad guys that were never on the big screen before and DC might get a shot at this. Those movies are sci-fi stories they are human stories. Warner should be hand off and create a DC movie division and let them do what they do with their cartoon movie. Is it that hard Marvel has given them the formula and they can't get it right …Expand

I walked into this movie with high hopes provided I love a good movie. Being produced by Christopher Nolan and a huge fan of generally speaking all of his work, I really expected alot from this movie. I came in expecting a movie that really dwelved deep into superman's character, but unfortunately none of my hopes manifested themselves. It ended up being a movie where the importantI walked into this movie with high hopes provided I love a good movie. Being produced by Christopher Nolan and a huge fan of generally speaking all of his work, I really expected alot from this movie. I came in expecting a movie that really dwelved deep into superman's character, but unfortunately none of my hopes manifested themselves. It ended up being a movie where the important character development was explained in its entirety in promotional trailer of the movie. Another problem I had coming into this was my expectations for a modern superhero movie with semi-interesting plot and some character development, but instead felt as though I was left with 300:Superman Edition. The first 40 minutes kept throwing new information at me that I hoped would go somewhere. Hope that it would become something more, but those hopes quickly died. after the first 40 minutes the movie turns into that epic battle scene that lasts 2 hours too long. Beyond that, the story was faced with many plot holes, a superman that fails to be connected with, an a love interest that feels forced and rather stale. If you go to a movie simply to see a plethora of CGI, by all means, this is the movie for you, but if you are looking for a movie with any level of development your money would be better spent purchasing rope and an afternoon in your garage.…Expand

As you can guess from the title of my review, I did not enjoy “Man of Steel.” It had great effects and the scenes that took place on Krypton were awesome. But overall the MoS was poorly paced, poorly directed, and didn’t provide characters that I could really connect with. The action sequences also lacked a sense of peril because the combatants were invulnerable.

I’ll start off tin what I liked about MoS, Krypton. Krypton was amazing in this film. It looked and felt completely alien. There was a giant flying creature that Jor’El rode on at one point. The structures and plains in the background were uniquely designed. Krypton in this movie was a breathtaking sight to behold. The narrative on Krypton flowed better than the rest of the movie also. Major plot points are setup masterfully on Krypton but soon begin falling apart once the story moves forward to Earth.

On to Earth, and the bad aspects of the film. MoS does a poor job of telling Superman’s origin story and establishing him as a character that we can root for and care about. We get to see Clark Kent roam around aimlessly with a big depression beard, while throwing in flashbacks of his childhood. This part of the movie wasn’t horrible but the pacing was odd. He’s a man, then a boy, then back to a man, then a teen. The individual scenes were good but they were linked in an uncomfortable, schizophrenic manner. The movie begins with Clark’s birth on Krypton, so how about maintaining a linear structure throughout the rest of the movie. Clark discovers his true identity and becomes Superman in a rather matter the fact way also.

Which brings me to another and the most problematic aspect of the movie, unnecessary subplots and superfluous characters. There’s a constant cutting away from Superman to give screen time to characters and subplots that could’ve easily been cut from the movie. Uninteresting shots of military personnel meticulously setting up they’re gear and they’re guns. Scientists who reiterate plot points that General Zod just explained two scenes ago. Lois Lane’s search for Clark after seeing him use his powers really fell flat. All of these subplots detracted from Superman’s story and character development and he felt like a significantly underdeveloped character by the end of the film when we’re supposed to be really rooting for and empathizing with him.

When this movie was first announced I was really put off by the darker tone, but it turns out they stayed true to what and how Superman is supposed to be. Well…. Up until the very end. When the writers put Superman in an impossible situation and he’s forced to do a very Un-Superman like act to save lives.

The villains were not interesting at all in MoS. General Zod is no Joker, Bane, or even Loki for that matter. Zod has zero charisma and he’s completely uninteresting when he’s on screen. I didn't care about what his evil plan was, his fist fights with Superman lacked impact because they were both practically invincible, and his minions were of a dime a dozen seen’em before variety. Zod was the absolute pinnacle of mediocrity. So he fit the rest of this mess of a movie perfectly.

So…… Since Superman and Zod can’t really hurt each other, everything around them gets destroyed. They manage to almost completely level Metropolis during the last 30 minutes of this movie (in between uninteresting shots of military personnel meticulously setting up they’re gear and they’re guns.) I haven’t been this bored watching things blow up since Transformers: Dark of the Moon. I ended up just feeling sorry for all of the fictional people who were going to get stuck with rebuilding Metropolis and cleaning up this mess. During the final battle in Marvel’s Avengers there was destruction, but it was mainly cars and parts of buildings. You didn't feel like there was a catastrophic loss of life during the final showdown in the Avengers. MoS feels like a hundred 9/11s are happening all at once. It felt a little sad, because if city blocks are being completely leveled left and right, you just logically assume that thousands of innocent people are dying during this dumb slug-fest.

That’s my opinion on MoS. It feels like another failed Hollywood attempt to bring Superman to life. Made by people with no respect for the franchise or the comic book art form. Superman’s story has been told correctly in animated form and re-imagined in countless comic books for years. But the director, Zack Snider, and the writers of MoS thought they were all smarter than all of the people who have brought this character to life successfully. Sad. But this movie is still going to make a billion dollars because you people don’t care. You just want mass destruction and explosions. You don’t even care if the plot makes sense or if the characters are fully developed..
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With one repetative fight scene after the next. Poorly utilizing Crowe and Costner and no character development of any kind for a number of key people in the movie. This gives you a joyless superman with no charisma or charm even from the man of steel. I was hoping for much more than just your average popcorn action movie. I love action movies but i understand others when they said theWith one repetative fight scene after the next. Poorly utilizing Crowe and Costner and no character development of any kind for a number of key people in the movie. This gives you a joyless superman with no charisma or charm even from the man of steel. I was hoping for much more than just your average popcorn action movie. I love action movies but i understand others when they said the action seemed to dull down other elements such as who the characters are, why they are important, and why they do what they do.…Expand

I had doubts about the movie at first. And I was right. It didn't feel like I was watching Superman, but a guy who had his powers. He was a gloomy character and seemed more like a over powered irritated babysitter than a a protector of good. And through out the whole movie all kept saying to myself is why did they do that or why didn't they do this. I guess Nolan and Synder thought thatI had doubts about the movie at first. And I was right. It didn't feel like I was watching Superman, but a guy who had his powers. He was a gloomy character and seemed more like a over powered irritated babysitter than a a protector of good. And through out the whole movie all kept saying to myself is why did they do that or why didn't they do this. I guess Nolan and Synder thought that by adding a ridiculous amount of special effects and destruction that it would carry a movie with a horrible story. But one plus about the movie is that the kid inside me loved it. But I have been a grown-up for a while.…Expand

Movie even worse second time, you start ti wonder why do they do this? CGI nightmare, stolen scenes from other movies. Like 4th of July, Doc Oct, Loki mop scene fro. avengers, big robot looking villain walking down small town scene.

The acting was terrible, I think one of the worse lois lane characters ever, Perry White awful and bad scenes. Same story written again about supermansMovie even worse second time, you start ti wonder why do they do this? CGI nightmare, stolen scenes from other movies. Like 4th of July, Doc Oct, Loki mop scene fro. avengers, big robot looking villain walking down small town scene.

The acting was terrible, I think one of the worse lois lane characters ever, Perry White awful and bad scenes. Same story written again about supermans beginning boring.

Everyone knows who superman is the cops even went by his house. The fact that he didn't save his father was crazy period.

CGi awful, a lot of destruction, even the Characters in front if the CGI background looked more like a game then a movie. Just nit good. Not sure why it gets some good reviews at all?

The story was bad, from the beginning. Typical Hollywood goons can't make a DC franchise good. Enough of the origins of superman already.…Expand

The most heavy handed piece of self righteous dribble I've ever seen, with sloppily directed action scenes, appalling dialogue and constant "Jesus" poses makes this film the worst film I've seen in years. It's the closest I've ever come to walking out of a movie.

I went to go see Man of Steel with no expectation, mainly because of the last Superman movie. As hard as i tried to like Man of Steel, I just couldn't. There were some enjoyable parts of the movie, but overall, it wasn't worth the price of admission.

The Good:
The Casting- I thought that the actors that they chose to play the parts were perfect. Especially superman, Henery Cavill fitI went to go see Man of Steel with no expectation, mainly because of the last Superman movie. As hard as i tried to like Man of Steel, I just couldn't. There were some enjoyable parts of the movie, but overall, it wasn't worth the price of admission.

The Good:

The Casting- I thought that the actors that they chose to play the parts were perfect. Especially superman, Henery Cavill fit the role of superman very well. I thought Amy Adams and Michael Shannon were well placed as well. Including others

FX- I thought the special effects were well done as well. They weren't spectacular, but the were good. Especially the fighting scenes. I really felt the power behind the punches. I thought they did that well. They flying scenes were pretty enjoyable too.

The Bad:

Script- Corning and uninteresting. It was hard to care about what was happening because first off there didn't seem to be any basis on why anything was happening in the movie. This was my biggest negative point in the whole movie. It was hard to get into because i didn't make the connection as to what is going on and why, and i think that is the scripts fault. Maybe there is back story in the comics, but i don't read those, so i have nothing to go off of. And there were several lines said in the movie that were like, really, you couldn't have thought of something better to say. The script wasn't all bad. There were moments in the story were I was engaged, but that didn't last long.

Pacing- I felt like this movie was all over the place. Especially the fighting scenes. They were cool at first but the intensity slow faded, and i felt that nothing new was really offered to make any new encounter different. Another problem was the main spectacular fights happened at the middle of the movie making the final fight scene more of an annoyance then something i actually wanted to watch.

In conclusion, this movie wasn't terrible, don't get me wrong. It just isn't the crazy awesome movie people are saying it is. It was mediocre at best. It did somethings right, but many wrong. I would recommend this movie as a RENTAL, just to experience the good moments of the movie, but do not waste the money to see it or buy it when it comes to DVD.…Expand

Terrible movie. It's more a "War of Worlds" and "Independance Day" than a Superman movie. You see more shooting, close combat, spacebattle and explosions than actually the main character evolving in the story. The medieval appeal of the Krypton doesn't fit at all my view of the home world of Superman. Sure, it was formed by the first movie from the late 70's but flying on dragons isTerrible movie. It's more a "War of Worlds" and "Independance Day" than a Superman movie. You see more shooting, close combat, spacebattle and explosions than actually the main character evolving in the story. The medieval appeal of the Krypton doesn't fit at all my view of the home world of Superman. Sure, it was formed by the first movie from the late 70's but flying on dragons is something I wouldn't expect from Superman's father. It felt a bit like "Game of the thrones". Sure, the special effects are nice but the story suffers a lot.…Expand

this is not an origin story. they do the origin of krypton but everything else is a flash back. the moment where clark realises who he is is not even portrayed with any significance. this movie is one very expensively done saturday morming cartoon drama.

the "S" must stand for stupidity.
They spent so much time with the cinematics that they forgot the plot.
It was weak, corny and absolutely predictable. It had the essentials in there.
But they were just slapped in with no real focus. There was no originality, it was just a remake.
The only thing special about this movie was the special effects.
If they are going to remake these moviesthe "S" must stand for stupidity.
They spent so much time with the cinematics that they forgot the plot.
It was weak, corny and absolutely predictable. It had the essentials in there.
But they were just slapped in with no real focus. There was no originality, it was just a remake.
The only thing special about this movie was the special effects.
If they are going to remake these movies they have to do it differently.

Superman? or Moral:
of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical: moral attitudes.

I could tear this movie apart into tiny pieces and then tear those tiny pieces into more tiny pieces.

I wanted to leave the cinema halfway through this "blockbuster".
An absolute shocker.…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
Apart from the impressive effects really nothing to watch in this movie .First half is more like a documentary that totally mismatch to comic book. Christopher Nolan is always poor and he did great part of ruining the superman as well.Its so stupid that miss Lane appears right after superman kill the General Because before that they were fighting and moved away from her in a lightning speed.I believe Super man returns is far more better movie than this.Also absence of defense Secretary and President is a mistake,Writers were assumed that target audience is brain dead and that a kind of mock to their awareness.…Expand

I will admit that the special effects are nice, ut overall the plot and dialogue is mess. The characters are made out of wood, and just boring action scenes. This movie was made for trailers not an actual cohesive movie.

just boring, cheesy and monotone. henry cavill is just annoying -sonny boy...no edges....certainly no super-hero! music won`t stop during the entire film, it´s totally packed and you feel nothing else than relieved when it's over! booo!

Man of Steel is the biggest disappointment of the year. What makes it such a letdown is that despite the interesting ideas it presents it fails completely with the execution. Take for example, the character development of the main character. Henry Cavill is a fine actor but you wouldn't know from this film. Clark Kent in MOS is a very poorly developed character. He has no personality and a severe lack of character development. And when I say personality, I don't mean that Clark has to be glib or witty, I mean that we as an audience don't get a sense of his point of view. We don't really see how he feels or where he stands. We don't see him develop a sense of morality or a sense of purpose. And this is largely because he spends most of his time listening to exposition of other characters of what he should be doing. We don't see him make any important decisions as a result. Instead he spends much of his life wondering from one place to another until through a very contrived circumstance; he overhears the discovery of an alien craft (Seriously?!) And when he finds the ship, he is told again through exposition of what he should be. Thus when he finally becomes a superhero (which in other origin films-ex. Batman Begins- is one of the most triumphant moments of those films) it is very flat and uneventful. The other main character Lois Lane, doesn't fair much better. Amy Adams is again a fine actress, but she is not a very interesting character because much of her presence is contrived. She often shows up in the film inorganically and is forced into situations with Clark and the other characters to keep the plot moving. As a result, she has really little chemistry with Clark because their relationship feels forced. Thus when (small spoiler) they finally kiss at the end, it comes off very flat and uneventful. The other characters are suitable but if the two major characters are bland and dull, that is a major issue.
The film also struggles to develop its themes. In the beginning of the film two major themes are introduced: hope and faith. The film suggests that Superman will be a symbol of hope and how he will be the one find a way, do the impossible, defy the constraints etc. The film also introduces this idea that Superman will have a reciprocal relationship with the people of earth: he will have faith in them in making the right choices and they will in return have faith in Superman in saving them in their time of need. Only, these themes, as interesting as they, are again developed very poorly. Superman is hardly a symbol of hope in this movie because he simply doesn't do anything really hopeful. We don't see him inspire people to be better. We don't see him try to do the impossible. In fact, in the last scene of the movie, when superman has a chance to deal with the main antagonist in way that defies expectations (hence hope), he instead opts for the lazy and predictable way. As for faith, this theme is poorly developed for the simple fact that we barely see Superman interact with the people of the world. We don't see them "stumble and fall" or "join him in the Sun" because the film simply didn't care to develop these ideas. If you notice a pattern in my criticism, its that the film likes to introduce ideas but has either no idea what to do with them or the film decides to distract you with action.
Which leads me to another major issue, the nonstop CG action in the final 40 minutes of the film. About a little more than half way through the film, the movie forgets about the character development and themes(which it handled so poorly already) and decides to show 40 mins of pummeling and tiresome action. If you are fan of Dragonball Z or the Matrix films you may be amused for a while. But there is only so many times that I can see someone be thrown through a building before it becomes tiring. And during these ridiculous action scenes, Superman forgets to do the one thing he does in every other version of Superman (comics, cartoon, Reeve's films): saving people. So many building are destroyed and so many people are injured and yet we barely see Superman even acknowledge his surroundings. Snyder was more interesting in topping the previous action scene than providing the proper balance of Superman fighting and saving.

This last point is indicative of the problem of the film: style over substance. The film gives the illusion of depth by introducing interesting ideas but does such a poor job developing these ideas. Instead the film tries to distract you with expensive CG action scenes, but even these scenes ring hollow because there is nothing beneath the action. If you are looking for film with interesting and relatable characters, quality storytelling, and good thematic development look elsewhere. If all you care about is action, you may enjoy the last half of the film.…Expand

I was so looking forward to seeing it after all the great looking trailers, but this is a mess and the worst movie i have ever seen. Everything was a mess. Long, boring and predictable like every other stupid summer blockbuster.

First off, screw the critics, I've lost any respect I had left for them, MOS is a masterpiece, THE greatest comic book film made, this is what Superman fans have been begging for and it was delivered with perfection! Stunning visuals, gripping story and the best action fight scenes I've ever seen, it was brutal! It made the The Dark Knight trilogy look like the Brady Bunch, I also lovedFirst off, screw the critics, I've lost any respect I had left for them, MOS is a masterpiece, THE greatest comic book film made, this is what Superman fans have been begging for and it was delivered with perfection! Stunning visuals, gripping story and the best action fight scenes I've ever seen, it was brutal! It made the The Dark Knight trilogy look like the Brady Bunch, I also loved the Sci-Fi aspect of it as well, Krypton and the spaceships were unreal, thankyou Mr Snyder for this amazing movie and please don't listen to the critics they don't have a clue, they still want Superman in red tights saving cats out of trees! MOS smashes 1978 Superman in every area, it's how a Superman film should be, absolute carnage! I was blown away by this and if the critics think it was so poor then why did the whole cinema I went to cheered and clapped in the end? I've never seen that before with any movie! Man of Steel is the new benchmark for superhero films now, It's way better than anything marvel has brought out, if I could rate it more than 10 then I would, EPIC in everyway possible!!!! 15/10…Expand

Making a movie for Superman must be very hard but I think that they did a pretty good job at it. It is great to see a next gen Superman but to be honest I don't think fans of the original Superman movies are gonna like this as Superman does not keep his identity much of a secret. It was great to see what Superman's younger life was like as I don't think that has ever been addressed before.Making a movie for Superman must be very hard but I think that they did a pretty good job at it. It is great to see a next gen Superman but to be honest I don't think fans of the original Superman movies are gonna like this as Superman does not keep his identity much of a secret. It was great to see what Superman's younger life was like as I don't think that has ever been addressed before. The fight scene effects where great but after seeing him fly threw 3 building it quickly gets dull and this really makes the movie drag. The movie is not terrible but you could easily give it a miss.…Expand

For a film that included non-stop building destruction and overblown fit-for-children violence, Man of Steel not only manages to be uninteresting and dull, but partly laughable in stages.

An unholy amount of back story and flashes drags the first half beyond reason, and the outrageous amount of fist fights between immortals and half of America's army in the second only further pointsFor a film that included non-stop building destruction and overblown fit-for-children violence, Man of Steel not only manages to be uninteresting and dull, but partly laughable in stages.

An unholy amount of back story and flashes drags the first half beyond reason, and the outrageous amount of fist fights between immortals and half of America's army in the second only further points the movie toward tedium. The scale and enormity of the violence is laughably trivial, that I had to wonder if I was watching the blockbuster version of Dragon Ball Z, where the violence never ends due to the borderline immortal characters.

Except, a film must end. And ignoring the awful cast and characterization When a German actress playing a side role outdoes everyone else, you have a problem the final scene of action is so hilariously trite. Despite causing Billions of dollars worth of damage and no doubt killing thousands in the process, they tag a moral scene on at the end for Superman Yes, that is your name, despite the film's idea of subtlety which is not only irrelevant, but insulting.…Expand

This movie was good...about 10% of the time. The plot was confusing and jumbled, the characters were pretty dumb and most of them had 2 second screen time and had no meaning to the story of Superman at all, the acting was too overexaggerated and most of all, the movie was so boring that I would've enjoyed the Lone Ranger a lot more!

What a bore! Overblown, soulless, unimaginative, uninteresting, dull, dull, dull. You would be more entertained if you watched a couple of the Dean Cain Superman tv series. I couldn't make it to the end, and I was not he first to walk out of this movie tonight. Really, don't waste your time.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
I so wanted to like this movie. It's hard to explain how much I wanted to like this movie. Superman Returns had nearly killed the franchise but this was my hope for a redemption. I watched closely at Rotten Tomatoes and the Metascore for this movie, and then dismissed them. Even though the critics didn't love this movie didn't necessarily mean that it was bad. I didn't read any of the reviews and went into the film wanting to defy them. Then, I saw the movie and my heart sank.

This film is a tremendous disappointment that looks good, but is only skin deep. Man of Steel introduces itself as a new version of Superman for this modern age. However, it feels the need to spell out every aspect of an origin story that everybody already knows with few bizarre changes to feed its predictable story. While I liked parts of it: the visual effects are stunning (in 2D) and the character interaction can be good, when the script allows the characters to have fun, I have to conclude in the end that this is a bad movie.

There are some parts of the film that I enjoyed, so I can't completely pan this film. First of all, I did like the special effects, especially on Krypton and during the flying sequences. They are well done and quite stylized and a good use of Zack Snyder's talent. Some of the flashback sequences are good for the character, especially the first one in which young Clark is hiding in the closet. Michael Shannon is glorious as General Zod, bellowing every line in villainous contempt in a suitably over-the-top performance that fits the grandiose Zod. (He doesn't hold a candle to Terrance Stamp, though.) Russell Crowe is surprisingly good as Jor-El who is in much more of the film than you'd expect. Finally, I can't say that I wasn't excited once Zod began to fly in the final battle and trade punches with our hero, an occurrence that Superman fans have been waiting for ever since there have ben movies about the Man of Tomorrow.

Unfortunately, the film totally collapses under the weight of its own screenplay with tremendous actors having little-to-nothing to do. Amy Adams' redheaded Lois Lane is generally a bland character with little chemistry with Cavill's Superman. After the halfway point she serves almost no purpose to the plot, only being there because she's Lois Lane (apparently) and needs to be in the movie. Lawrence Fishburn has nothing to do as Perry White, although the film cuts to him every once and a while, though the audience has little reason to care what happens to him. We watch him try to evacuate the Daily Planet as we have to assume thousands of people are trying, and failing to do the same in nearby buildings.

The characters in this movie are uncharacterized, poorly characterized, or mischaracterized. The film seems to be upset with the concept of Superman while not really making us care about Superman the person. He has little opportunity to show any of the charm that Reeve brought to the character, robbing Man of Steel of some of the fun. I also couldn't get over the characterization of Jonathan Kent in this film. While Jonathan Kent is, and should be, highly protective of Clark and his secret, he doesn't do so in a constructive way. Jonathan Kent is meant to be a tether that binds Superman to the human world and teaches his son the value of life. Otherwise, this Superman really shouldn't care about the people, and cannot really be the savior he needs to be.

The movie is filled with plot holes, questionable judgments, and stupid characters. Why do the Kryptonians, especially Lara allow Zod to be imprisoned in space when the planet is about to blow up? Where is the rest of Zod's army when he lands on Earth, there only seem to be three or four that exit the ship? Why does Superman choose to fly to the other side of the earth to destroy the world machine, while he can do more good fighting the machine in Metropolis and save lives doing it? Most importantly, why does Superman not try to limit the damage done to Metropolis during the final battle?

Now I could forgive this, all of this, and call this maybe a six out of ten movie, if not for the final factor. Superman KILLS Zod. He just murders him, snaps his neck to save a family of four. First of all, after the thousands of deaths your fight has caused, why do those people matter so much? I kid, Superman is supposed to protect all people, but also never supposed to kill anybody. He is supposed to be able to find a way out, that why he's SUPERMAN. He is a symbol and an ideal, something to strive toward, which we can't and shouldn't do if Superman falls to what we would do in that situation. The idea that this makes him more modern shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the character by Goyer and Nolan. Superman is supposed to be better than we are, in mind and body, to say that he would do that, and that someone could give him no choice is an insult to the character. To the inevitable sequel, I say this, SUPERMAN DESERVES BETTER.…Expand

What a disappointment, this film had such potential. Why is it the trailer contained all the beauty and humanity (and none of the inane action that the film did?) I should have known. There's a reason I don't see action movies (especially comic book ones) any more (I think the last one I saw was the first Iron Man). Story and great character development sacrificed to show us specialWhat a disappointment, this film had such potential. Why is it the trailer contained all the beauty and humanity (and none of the inane action that the film did?) I should have known. There's a reason I don't see action movies (especially comic book ones) any more (I think the last one I saw was the first Iron Man). Story and great character development sacrificed to show us special effect CG characters hitting and banging and crushing and so on. I mean, how many buildings do we have to see Superman and his enemies get thrown through? The action sequences are what ruins this movie hands down. And WHO decided a shaky, vomit-inducing hand held camera was the best choice for the earth family human sequences? Will we ever turn back? Oh wait..."Pacific Rim" is just around the corner. Yeah, let's rush out to get in line...…Expand

Visuals: one of the best I've seen (espec in a blockbuster)
Cast: ok, althought the actor of Superman has too big imho
Storyline: same as 99% of blockbusters, this got me really sad. Imagine if they really put a GOOD, not braindead story with these visuals.. wouldn't that be magical? -3 points for griffindor for that.
i think I'll add one more thing: if you have control of theVisuals: one of the best I've seen (espec in a blockbuster)
Cast: ok, althought the actor of Superman has too big imho
Storyline: same as 99% of blockbusters, this got me really sad. Imagine if they really put a GOOD, not braindead story with these visuals.. wouldn't that be magical? -3 points for griffindor for that.
i think I'll add one more thing: if you have control of the spaceship, WHY on earth don't you simply remove the athmosphere and kill all the villains?…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
This review may be a bit biased since I've never been a huge fan of the Superman comic book however, as a film I found this one in particular to be completely uninspired and unoriginal. Hope this doesn't count as a spoiler but, the fate of Superman basically rests on a flash drive. Also the outdated CG made every character animated through it seem like rubber.…Expand

this is the single worst thing I have ever seen in the theater. It's nothing but a bunch of noise and smashing around for at least half of the movie; the other half was incredibly slow; The two best acting jobs in it are Russell Crow and Kevin Costner; there's pretty munch no meaningful dialogue what-so-ever and none of the characters give you any reason to care about them. The best thingthis is the single worst thing I have ever seen in the theater. It's nothing but a bunch of noise and smashing around for at least half of the movie; the other half was incredibly slow; The two best acting jobs in it are Russell Crow and Kevin Costner; there's pretty munch no meaningful dialogue what-so-ever and none of the characters give you any reason to care about them. The best thing to do is wait until it comes out on video, then wait a little longer for it to air on TV, then change the channel and watch something else.…Expand

What it fails to supply much of — surprisingly, it must be said — is fun. This is serious business, Snyder seems always to be saying. This is badass. And given the sheer logistical size of the spectacle on display, it's a position that's hard to argue with.

David Goyer, who wrote the script for Man of Steel from a story he concocted with Christopher Nolan, found a new way to make us care: The title character is disturbed by everything in his adopted home.